788 Tasting Notes
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: grassy, smoke
Steeped Tea Smell: roasty, molasses
Flavor: gritty, thick, roasty, smoky, woody
Body: Full
Aftertaste: astringent and bitter
Liquor: opaque dark brown, like coffee
A gift from TeaEqualsBliss.
I enjoyed this, I have found I only like roasted mate and not green mate.
I think a bit of cream and sugar would go well in this.
pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/mate-factor-company-loose-leaf-mate.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: ~ 2 minutes
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: malty, the leaves have a disappointing CTC look.
Steeped Tea Smell: roasty, smoky
Flavor: astringent, malty, smoky, nutty
Body: Full
Aftertaste: bitter
Liquor: translucent dark orange brown
TeaEqualsBliss Gift!
Unremarkable, and slightly unpleasant.
Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/mcnultys-tea-and-coffee-company-loose_22.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 12 ounces hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: orange, grassy, a little mint (cross contamination?)
Steeped Tea Smell: grassy, hints of orange
Flavor: grassy
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: grassy
Liquor: translucent olive green
I like it better than most mate I have had, didn’t get much orange, but i got a green tea flavor as opposed to the overpowering flavor i usually get from mate.
This was a gift from TeaEqualsBliss, Thank you!
Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/esp-emporium-loose-leaf-mate-tisane.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: ~150°F hot spigot water 12 oz
Steep Time: a little over 1 minute (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: strawberry, vanilla, hints of vegetation
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal, matcha, slight hints of berry
Flavor: mild vegetal, slightly floral, smooth
Body: Light
Aftertaste: vegetal
Liquor: translucent light green
Not a bad tea at all, but too floral for me. I also am not a huge green tea fan.
I am not getting the berry or vanilla in the taste, only the smell.
This was a free item included in my order.
pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/lupicia-teabag-green-tea-strawberry.html
Preparation
Making actual ice cream. If I was gonna be lazy I woulda said so LOL:) Lazy way is good, but I’m sure the real way would be better. I’d actually make frozen yogurt though, not ice cream.
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: boiling 12 oz
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes (http://steep.it/)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: orange, clove, the cinnamon I had to look for
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea
Flavor: black tea with a nice background of cinnamon and clove
Body: Full
Aftertaste: citrus, astringent, toasty (hard to describe but like the baked part of the tea stays with you)
Liquor: nearly opaque dark red-brown
Post-Steep Additives: + 1 honey stick = a little more of the spices come out.
At first was expecting more spice, from the name, but I was pleasantly surprised by this being a nice strong black tea with hints of spice. They play second fiddle to a lovely cup of tea. The smell does make you
think of the holidays, and overall i drank about 3 cups of this today at work – they kept disappearing before I could write my review.
I believe I could have used one heaping spoonful instead of two in the 12 ounce mug.
I love that i got a hand written note! It makes me smile when people include notes in packages. The note gave a little information on the Arbor Teas commitment to the environment – including information about their 100% backyard compostable packaging. The note was printed with vegetable-based ink on FSC-certified paper containing 100% post-consumer waste and processed chlorine-free.
This tea is organic and Fair Trade Certified. That would be worthless if the tea was not good, but this tea is delicious so it’s an added bonus for everyone. It is a lovely tea and only missed out on a 100% rating because it’s not something I MUST keep stocked at all times.
Pictures http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/arbor-teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-holiday.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes+ (http://steep.it/) since i forgot about it for a little
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: mint
Steeped Tea Smell: mellow mint with hints of black tea
Flavor: mint, followed by black tea
Body: Full
Aftertaste: astringent, bitter
Liquor: opaque dark orange brown
A gift from TeaEqualsBliss, thank you.
I should have watched it closer and only did 2 min, and added sugar and cream – next time.
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/compass-teas-loose-leaf-black-tea_13.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Amount: ~2 tsp
Water: hot spigot water
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: sweet, honey
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet
Flavor: sweet, fuzzy – it gives a fuzzy mouth feel
Body: Light
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: translucent light brown
A gift from TeaEqualsBliss, thank you.
I found this tea to be too mellow, light and subtle for me. It is surprisingly sweet.
Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/basic-tea-loose-leaf-black-tea-organic.html
Preparation
Steep Information:
Prepared in store. Served in the Duck Eggshell Porcelain Guywan Set with an iron pot of water. I was pretty impressed with myself, for the first time using a guywan I only made a mess the first pour! I went through about 3+ pots of hot water and the tea was still going strong but our food was done, the parking meter was up, and it was time to go to our next scheduled event.
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: vegeal, nutty
Steeped Tea Smell: Very little to no scent
Flavor: light, silky, vegetal nutty
Body: Light to medium as it went on
Aftertaste: not noticeable, but I was also eating
Liquor: translucent yellow green
I had this for breakfast at the Yerba Buena Gardens location. I ordered it as there was no Golden Phoenix Oolong Tea available. The waitress suggested this as an alternative and i enjoyed it. I had the Ginger Quinoa Waffle (Soft like a pillow, heavenly. Served with fresh fruit & real maple syrup) along with this tea.
Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/samovar-loose-leaf-oolong-tea-bai-hao.html
If I knew you were in the SF Bay Area, I would have been happy to drag you around to tea places! Did you have a chance to swing by Imperial Tea Court, Teance, or Red Blossom?
Sadly i was only there for about <48 hours :( otherwise that would have been awesome! I arrived midnight friday – went to wicked grounds, woke up saturday and had breakfast at samovar, then spent the day at teh dickens fair seeing a friend, then dinner at samovar, dessert at wicked grounds, sunday was lupicia and airport…short trip